The rise and decline of south Wales coal exports, 1870-1930

This article focuses on the history of Welsh coal exports and seeks to substantiate two points. First, that technical change at sea was the principal demand factor accounting for the pre-eminence of South Wales as a coal-exporting region. Second, that in addition to their direct impact on the Welsh economy, coal shipments from the Bristol Channel ports played a crucial role in maintaining the maritime and commercial supremacy of the United Kingdom during the decades immediately prior to the First World War.